Intel’s Brian Krzanich, who took over Thursday as chief executive officer, said the world’s largest computer chipmaker has the assets it needs to accelerate a push into mobile devices.

“We see that we’ve been a bit slow to move into that space,” Krzanich said at the annual shareholder meeting at the company’s headquarters in Santa Clara, California. “The base of assets that we have will allow us to grow in that area much faster moving forwards.”

Krzanich, Intel’s sixth chief executive, takes the helm as the company struggles to cut into Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM)’s lead in the $85.4 billion mobile-chip market. Industry-leading manufacturing and new products will enable the company to start making inroads in phones and tablets, he said.

Krzanich said he and newly promoted company President Renee James will try to make Intel more outward-looking in order to predict future trends in computing, Krzanich said.

That’s more important as consumers, rather than corporations, take the leading role in determining which devices and technologies are successful, Chief Financial Officer Stacy Smith said in an interview following Thursday’s meeting.

“The lifecycle of those devices and the lifecycle of the leadership of the market is very short,” he said. “The consumer is driving these very fast technology shifts.”

Krzanich, a former factory manager, succeeds Paul Otellini, who retired. Intel has improved its execution in creating products for new markets and Krzanich, with his background in operations, is very focused on making sure that there are no slip ups, said Smith.

Intel shares (INTC) rose less than 1 percent, to $24.23 at 2:05 p.m. in New York. While the stock has gained 18 percent this year, it dropped more than 6 percent during Otellini’s tenure, which began in May 2005.